Breastfeeding Is Environmentally Responsible

ANOTHER RE-POST!! WITH EARTH DAY HERE IT IS THE PERFECT TIME TO REMIND NEW AND EXPECTANT PARENTS ABOUT THE BENEFITS OF BREASTFEEDING BEYOND THOSE THAT IMMEDIATELY IMPACT MOM AND BABY!

Two of my favourite topics to talk and write about. With spring now upon us and my mini-irises already in bloom my thoughts turn to the environment, the world we live in and teaching our children to be more eco-responsible. Admittedly the majority of readers of the babyREADY blog have babies and very young children/toddlers so you may not be exactly where I am with regard to teaching children about eco-consciousness. Let me turn this around though and offer some “food for thought” that brings environmentalism back into the discussion though. I want to write about how breastfeeding is an eco-responsible way to feed your baby.

I don’t think this is a topic about which very many people give any thought. They know that they turn their thermostats down at night, buy organic produce and even make an effort to avoid doing laundry during peak hours but I wonder how many have given any thought as to what goes into the food they feed their baby?

I want to draw your attention to what types of risks to the environment come from simply creating artificial baby milk (ABM):

• Toxic fumes in the form of methane gas from cow emissions (flatulence and waste). Cow’s milk protein is the base ingredient in most artificial baby milks
• Soil erosion, deforestation and inappropriate use of land due to clear cutting trees, underbrush and bushes to make space for raising the cattle
• Contaminated water tables as a result of the pesticides sprayed on and injected into the grains used to feed the cows as well as the cattle waste which seeps into the ground and water table and runs off into the creeks and streams
• When soy is the base ingredient being used instead of cow’s milk protein then contaminants from the irrigation and pesticides run into water tables as well as the toxic emissions from the farm equipment needed to harvest the soy



None of this speaks at all to the clear cutting of land to harvest trees to make paper for labels and cardboard boxes for the ABM packaging, emissions from vehicles used to transport the ABM packages, or the plastic bottles, nipples and other contraptions required for transferring the ABM into the infant.

Breastfeeding not only feeds the soul but it feeds the planet. This time of year as the earth begins to show signs of new life my fascination with the breastfeeding relationship, as it extends outside of the mother/baby dyad, gains new life. I encourage all of you to consider what you are doing for the planet the next time you feed your child.

** Some of the other people who have written about breastfeeding and the environment and have done it in more detail are:
Breastfeeding Moms Unite - a great post about "Breastfeeding for Earth Day."
Ecomall: A Place to Help Save the Earth
KellyMom: Breastfeeding and Environmental Contaminants
Eco Child’s Play: Breastfeeding Benefits the Environment Too!

Posted by Sam